Two men allegedly stole $1 million in Caterpillar parts

EAST PEORIA - Piece by custom-built piece - some as small as a drill bit, none too large to carry away in a bag - two men allegedly stole more than $1 million in parts from Caterpillar Inc.

By Matt BuedelGateHouse Media Illinois

EAST PEORIA - Piece by custom-built piece - some as small as a drill bit, none too large to carry away in a bag - two men allegedly stole more than $1 million in parts from Caterpillar Inc.
The three-year scheme unraveled last week when a search warrant was executed at the home of John R. Peters, 50, of 352 Cole St., who was employed by a Caterpillar contractor at one of the plants through February of this year. A current contractor, Eliot
J. Wells, 35, of 409 E. Archer Ave. in Peoria, also was arrested in connection with the thefts.
Authorities found approximately $300,000 worth of Big Yellow property at the home, along with eBay and PayPal online sales accounts that had raked in about $485,000 in illicit sales.
"As you can imagine, some Caterpillar parts are expensive," Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz said. "These guys knew what they were doing."
Detectives with the East Peoria Police Department were first alerted to the thefts by Caterpillar security in mid-August after parts with serial numbers specific to the company were found for sale on an eBay account that had the same phone number as the water bill at Peters' address.
The sales from that account covered a period of time that Peters worked for a company that contracted with Caterpillar but also extended beyond his termination on Feb. 12. Company security then alerted police to suspicious activity of a different contract employee, Wells.
After Peters no longer worked with Caterpillar, Wells' pattern of access at Caterpillar changed during Sunday shifts. Police put Wells under surveillance, and on Sept. 1 watched him enter an unidentified building with a lunch bag hanging from a strap over his shoulder.
When Wells left three hours later, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Tazewell County court, the strap was tight across his shoulder as if it contained heavy items. Wells needed two hands to place the bag in his vehicle.
Detectives followed Wells to Peters' residence, where Wells carried the bag inside. Two days later, on Sept. 3, a custom reaction bar made only for Caterpillar went up on the suspicious eBay account. It was listed for $1,700 even though it cost $7,500 from the company, according to the court document.
Police raided the home Sept. 11 and found not only the hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of Caterpillar property, but also a significant amount of Harley-Davidson equipment.
"I think what makes this unusual is just the sheer volume of the items and the value of the items," said East Peoria police Chief Dick Ganschow. "Not just the items taken, but more importantly, the items recovered."
Peters told police he began stealing the items about three years ago and selling them online for a fraction of their actual value. He said Wells began stealing for him about a year and half ago, and that Wells continued the practice after Peters was fired.
According to the affidavit, Wells received half the profit.
The Harley-Davidson equipment in the home was financed with proceeds of the illegal Caterpillar parts sales, Peters told police. That equipment was seized by police, and the Caterpillar property was taken to return to the company.
"We're happy to get such a large volume of items and large value of items back for Caterpillar," Ganschow said. "I'm very proud of the work our detectives did in this case."
Peters and Wells remain in custody at the Tazewell County Jail on one Class 1 felony count of theft over $100,000 apiece. Each man has a $500,000 bond. Both men have preliminary hearings scheduled for Oct. 10.